Robert Nathan Fried (born January 16, 1963) is the CEO of Niagen Bioscience. He is also an American film producer and media, technology, and healthcare entrepreneur. He is the founder of Fried Films and Spiritclips, LLC, a division of

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...

which includes Hallmark eCards and Feeln. He previously was president and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Savoy Pictures Savoy Pictures Entertainment, Inc. was an American independent motion picture company that operated from 1992 to 1997. Among Savoy Pictures' noteworthy feature films were '' No Escape'', and '' Last of the Dogmen''. History Former Columbia Pic ...

. He became the CEO of Niagen Bioscience in 2018.

Career

Entertainment

From 1983 to 1990, Fried held various executive positions in the entertainment industry. He was executive vice president of production for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

when

Dawn Steel Dawn Leslie Steel (August 19, 1946 – December 20, 1997) was an American film studio executive and producer. She was one of the first women to run a major Hollywood film studio, rising through the ranks of merchandising and production to head ...

was president of Columbia Pictures in 1987, director of film finance and special projects for Columbia Pictures, and director of business development at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

Orion Pictures Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...

hired Fried as vice president of production in 1986. He founded Fried Films, a production company, in 1990 and was founding CEO. As a film producer, Fried won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in 1992 for his short film, '' Session Man''. His film '' Rudy'' won the

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organizatio ...

that year. He was president and CEO of

from December 1994 to June 1996. In 1996, Fried founded WhatsHotNow, an e-commerce company that sells entertainment memorabilia. He was chairman and CEO of the company until June 2001. In 2005, '' Collateral'', a movie Fried produced, won an

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

award. Fried launched Spirit EMX, an internet video content company, in 2007. Hallmark Cards acquired Spirit EMX and rebranded it as SpiritClips, LLC. Fried was co-chairman of Tiger Media from October 2009 to August 2011.

Niagen Bioscience (formerly ChromaDex)

In 2015, Fried joined ChromaDex Corporation, now Niagen Bioscience (NASDAQ: NAGE), a science-based integrated reference standards and nutraceutical company, as a member of its Board of Directors. He became interested in the longevity field previously, investing in longevity biotech companies. In early 2016, Fried co-founded HealthSpan Research LLC with biochemist Dr. Charles Brenner. Through its subsidiary ProHealthSpan, the company introduced Tru Niagen, a consumer supplement featuring ChromaDex's patented ingredient Niagen ( nicotinamide riboside (NR) chloride), an NAD+ precursor researched for its potential benefits in cellular health and age-related decline. In March 2017, ChromaDex acquired Healthspan Research. Following the acquisition, Fried became President and Chief Operating Officer of ChromaDex in 2017. In April 2018, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ChromaDex. Under his leadership, ChromaDex expanded its research and development of nicotinamide riboside and other NAD+ precursors for cellular health and longevity applications. In March 2025, ChromaDex changed its corporate name to Niagen Bioscience.

Personal life

Fried holds a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. In 1994, he married actress

Nancy Travis Nancy Ann Travis (born September 21, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the ABC television miniseries ''Harem'' opposite Omar Sharif. Her breakthrough came in 1987, ...

, who appeared in Fried's ''

So I Married An Axe Murderer ''So I Married an Axe Murderer'' is a 1993 American romantic black comedy film, directed by Thomas Schlamme, and starring Mike Myers and Nancy Travis. Myers plays Charlie MacKenzie, a man afraid of commitment until he meets Harriet (Travis), ...

'' (1993). They have two sons.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Spiritclips.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friend, Robert American film production company founders American film studio executives American male screenwriters Columbia Business School alumni Cornell University alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Directors of Live Action Short Film Academy Award winners Producers who won the Live Action Short Film Academy Award American chief executives